Let's Play
by LeahSkywanker
Summary: Mei likes to spend her lunch with the players of her school's basketball team, what will she do when the ace of the team starts showing up again and takes quite a shine to her? Aomine x OC. Rated T, may change in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just a fun little story I'll be doing, I love Aomine as a character, I think he's awesome and deserves a little bit of love. So just to make you aware if you miss it in the tags and the bio, this story does contain a character of my own creation. Let's hope you enjoy where this takes us. Thanks for reading.**

 _ ***Edited***_

"You're too slow Wakamatsu." Letting out a breathless laugh, Mei effortlessly slid around her friend's body and flipped the basketball into the air, it fell through the hoop with a whoosh and bounced at their ankles.

The male's eyes glanced at the ball that was rolling at her feet, then scared the crap out of her by releasing a battle cry and charging at her.

"Don't you dare Wa-" The air was pushed out of her chest as his arms circled her chest and flung her over his shoulder. The squeals that were leaving her lips could have probably of been compared to that of a dying cat as he paraded her across the court.

"Be quiet blondie, your voice is echoing and it's hurting my head." His trainers squeaked as he ran across the court, spinning her body around. He knew she hated being picked up so like the ass he was, he took it one step further and twirled her around on his shoulders.

After fighting the wave of nausea that came everytime he tried to play spin around the court with her, she scowled up at her senior with narrowed eyes.

Pushing out her arms, she shoved him with all her might but wasn't surprised to see that he didn't move an inch, the guy was over 6ft tall and weighed twice what she did.

"Stop doing that to me, you know I get motion sickness."

Mei was a first year student at Tōō academy, which happened to have an amazing basketball team. She witnessed this firsthand when she stumbling into the gymnasium one rainy day and watched the team playing together.

A couple of the guys had invited her to join them and once realizing that she could actually play quite well, they had invited her back.

She liked basketball and wasn't half bad but after playing with Wakamatsu and the rest of the team for half a year almost everyday, she was getting pretty good. She enjoyed spending time with them all and watching them practice.

Hence why she was all sweaty on her lunch break, playing with an upperclassman instead of eating her food along with the rest of her class. Having a one on one game with Wakamatsu was way more fun.

Ever since she had left her middle school, friends were scarce for her. Everybody's interests were on boys and make up, instead of things that actually mattered so she found that she didn't have a lot in common with anybody anymore.

At least when she was here, she could leave everything on the sidelines and just have fun. Mei let out a small shriek as a huge cotton towel landed on her head and blinded her.

"You're drenched in sweat, all gross looking." She had a great time with Wakamatsu on the court but that was where it ended. Neither of them saw each other as anything other than a friend, that was why they got on so well. No unnecessary feelings ever got involved.

Sometimes though, she couldn't help but be a bit skeptical on playing these little games with him, surely he couldn't afford to waste his time with a girl when he could be practicing with his way more skilled team mates.

He and the rest of their school's basketball team took the game extremely serious, it was a way of life for them.

"We've got a match on Saturday, will you come watch us?"

Mei pulled the towel down so her eyes were exposed, she stared blankly at her friends face. He was scowling at her as he spoke. "Or not, I just thought I'd ask as you're getting way better at playing so maybe if you watch us play a match, you might learn a thing or two. We could take you in the school bus."

 _'Yeah.'_ She thought to herself. _'That makes perfect sense.'_ Holding out her fist, she waited for him to bump it. The scowl on his face soon melted away, replaced with his carefree grin and he met her fist with his.

"Sure, I'd like that. I'll be the idiot in the crowd cheering the loudest."

"Who's the idiot?" A torrent of basketball players flooded the court with armfuls of food, their appetite was monstrous but with the amount of exercise they did, it was no wonder they had to consume so much food.

"Ah Mei." Imayoshi, the team's captain, walked up to the two of them and held out a bag.

"Good to see you again, are you kicking little Wakamatsu's ass again?" Laughing, she poked the blonde in his gut and hopped over to the captain's side to take the bag off him.

He always got them something since they were always playing when they left to get the food. Yet, he always refused the money they offered him for it. The guy was far too sweet for his own good.

All of the basketball team were. Hidden under those tough exteriors were a soft nougat center that she was lucky enough to see. Well, she said all of them, bar one.

There was one member that very rarely showed his face at practice or at any of their meetings. Someone who was supposedly the ace of this school's team. Daiki Aomine.

She was yet to meet this mystery man but she was on good terms with his own personal handler Momoi. She always spoke on Aomine's behalf on why he wasn't there and always defending him when the others spoke bad of him. Mei couldn't help but wonder if he really deserved such kind treatment, he took his team for granted.

He sounded like a self obsessed, egotistical brat.

"Thanks for the food master." Bowing deeply, Mei searched around the room for where Wakamatsu had disappeared to and finally spotted him. She made her way over to his hunched over form where he was stretching out his body.

Seeing it as her prime opportunity to get her own back on him, she slid the bag of food across the floor and launched her body onto his back.

Letting out a low groan, his body bent in half and he ate the floor. Mei couldn't help but burst out laughing at how he had crumpled like a piece of paper underneath her.

"Wow, you really suck, need to work on your core strength." She moved forward to ticked his abdominal muscles but a loud clearing of someone's throat caught her attention instead, standing outside the men's changing rooms was Wakamatsu with a strange expression on his face.

"Uh Mei, take a step away and don't stop until you're way over here."

Her face was that of horror as she looked at the body lying on the floor below her and felt her heart drop to the floor. Now that he wasn't bent over, she could see that this guy didn't have blonde hair and that his skin was far too dark to be Wakamatsu's.

"I'm so sorry about that, I thought you were-"

"Damn." The guy grumbled as he pushed himself off the floor. "You weigh a hell of a lot, maybe you should think about going on a diet."

 _'I take it back, I'm going to stamp him into the floor, so rude.'_

Her foot flew out to mash into his exposed back but she was pulled backwards by a strong pair of arms. She let out a moan of displeasure as she was yanked away from her target.

The man got to his feet and turned around to face her. His blue eyes were dull and uninterested as he examined her appearance. They quickly glanced over her shoulder and a grin stretched his lips.

"Yo Wakamatsu, this your girl? Thought you had taste." Trying to lunge forward, she was yet again restrained.

"You little punk, I just want to talk to him Waka, let me go."

Aomine seemed amused by her display of anger and tried to get another rise out of her.

"You need to put a collar and lead on her, she's vicious."

"Shut up Aomine, she's not my girl." Wakamatsu barked over her shoulder. From all of that, that was all he had to say? So this was the famous player who had been a member of the generation of miracles, he didn't seem that impressive. He was just ticking all of the things that she had assumed he would be.

"Why are you letting a random girl into the gym when we're training and letting her wear your jersey then if she isn't your girl?"

Aomine walked over to the two of them and pulled on the towel that was still hanging off Mei's shoulders. "Run along little girl."

She could feel herself growling at him, she was fitting into his stereotype that she was a dog and she didn't like it.

"Aomine, back off. She's a friend of the team and she's generally here more than you are. Her name's Mei." Imayoshi turned his head towards her and nodded his head at the bluenette.

"This is Aomine. Our star player."

Imayoshi was forever the peacekeeper between any of the teammates when they had a disagreement.

He was very good at defusing any situation, this was an essential skill when you had someone like Wakamatsu on the team. Despite his good traits, Mei had come to realise that he was somewhat of a hot head at times and could act a bit unreasonable.

Now she had no reason to ever complain about the idiots moods because this Aomine guy was a hundred times worse. Granted, she shouldn't of jumped on him but it was an honest mistake and most importantly, she had apologized. What more did he want?

From her perspective, he just seemed to want to get a rise out of anybody and everybody. Now, Wakamatsu was the one who was falling for it.

Ripping off the jersey that she had been given by the tall blonde, leaving herself in a flimsy vest top, she relished the shocked look on the man's face as she jumped in front of Aomine so she could reach high enough to place it over his head and pull it down his body.

"You're wearing his jersey now, does that mean your his boyfriend? What a ridiculous logic."

Her brown eyes were narrowed at him as she waited for his response. The whole gymnasium was silent, also waiting. Aomine stared down at the jersey that was now over his own, looked back at Mei and then burst out laughing. "What the hell, who are you."

With a roll of her eyes, she spun on her feet to and went to leave. "Thanks for the game Wakamatsu, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow poochie." Aomine's voice rang across the room, followed by his laughter. This guy was extremely annoying but she wouldn't give up her lunch time haven because he was there.

She very much doubted that the brat would be there tomorrow.

* * *

"Hey there poochie, did you come back just to see me?" It turned out that she was very wrong, as soon as her foot hit the inside of the gymnasium the following day, Aomine was waiting for her at the doors. Clearly he just loved to tease people.

 _'If I don't give a reaction, he'll leave me alone. Where's Momoi when you need her.'_

"Did you want my jersey today? I got it all warmed up for you." As he spoke, he pulled off his top and held it out for her.

It was damp with sweat and had an extremely ripe smell to it. With a displeased scowl, she pulled out her pen that she used to keep her hair secure and pushed the fabric to the side so she could pass.

"Imayoshi, where's Wakamatsu?" The team captain looked apologetic as he spoke.

"Sorry Mei, he's got stuck in class. He hasn't been studying so he's getting an earful." Rolling her eyes, she walked to the side of the room and resigned herself to simply watching today. She didn't play as well with anybody else like she did with Wakamatsu.

 _'I'll just observe today, it's always nicer watching than sitting in that classroom listening to whose boyfriend bought them what.'_

"Wanna play 1 on 1 with me pooch? I'll be gentle." Shaking her head, she didn't dignify Aomine with a response as she pulled out her lunch, ready to eat. Or so she thought.

Before she could even pop open her food box, she was whisked off the floor and placed over Aomine's shoulder. Her hands instinctively went to her skirt to hold it in place, the last thing she needed was a bunch of guys seeing her underwear.

She was pretty sure that the pair she was wearing today had a certain cartoon character on that people over the age of 5 shouldn't be watching.

"Maybe if you thought I was worthy of a response from your pretty little mouth I wouldn't have to do this." Aomine's hands grasped her hips to keep her in place.

"I won't let you down until I hear an apology."

Her legs were dangling over his muscular shoulder and her eyes were staring at his shoes as he kept her sprawled across his shoulder. What did he think she was, a toy?

She had bad a feeling that this guy was going to ruin any chance of tranquility she found from spending her time at the basketball gym.


	2. Chapter 2

After hearing that the school was going to be hosting another basketball team in the gymnasium for joint practice, Mei thought it would be best for her to skip going there for the day.

It was probably in preparation for their qualifying match on the following Saturday which she had stupidly agreed to going to. It wasn't that she didn't want to go and cheer them on but more that she was going to be wrecked from her part time job the night before.

Her parents were long gone, she didn't know where they were and to be frank, she didn't really care. There were not many pleasant memories she had of the people who brought her into the world.

The only person who she had to call family was her older brother, Yuki.

He took care of her as much as he could but it wouldn't be right for her to expect him to work himself to the bone just to keep them afloat.

Yuki's pride made it that much harder to convince him of letting his little sister get a job. He wanted her to concentrate on her school work and do well for herself. How could she do that when he was running himself into the ground?

He should be in his first year of university, but had left education to work full time, which his workplace was thrilled with. Why wouldn't they be? Her brother was an exceptional worker, they were lucky to have him.

His compromise of her getting a job was that she could, if it met his three conditions. It was in a safe neighborhood, which he had embarrassingly checked.

That it didn't disrupt her studies, she tried her best to keep her shifts either on weekends or Friday after school which would be considered her free time so she could keep on top of her school work.

And the last condition was that he didn't want to see any of the money she made, it was strictly for herself. The only thing he'd allow herself to spend the money on otherwise would be food for them.

As he worked a lot, he wasn't as home as much as she'd like him to be. The compromise of allowing her to buy food worked as she always bought him the best food to come home to, it was ready and waiting when he walked through the door.

His haggard eyes would look up from the floor and light up at the sight of the steaming food sat at the table for him.

In a world like the one they were in, you had to make your own happiness. She would ensure that her brother was always smiling because she'd always be there for him.

So after a long day at school, she would have to go to her job, work until the early hours of the morning and then get up early to attend Wakamatsu's basketball game, it would be tough but she was up for the challenge.

Clipping the sides of the two bento boxes she had carefully arranged, she silently crept through their silent apartment to her brothers room.

Yuki always slept through his alarms and today was no different, as she stepped into her brothers pristine room, she smiled to herself at his sleeping face.

The only time he looked his age was when he was asleep and Mei always took an extra long look. Their parents had forced him to grow up, he missed out on the best years of his life because he was looking after her.

He couldn't go out with his friends and he couldn't stay in a stable relationship because he always put her first. Girls didn't like that in a guy apparently.

"Stop staring at me Mei, you're so weird." Yuki's voice was rough with sleep as he spoke, his eyes cracked open slightly revealing sparkling sapphire eyes not much different to her own, they glossed over her to glance at the clock hanging above his doorway.

After seeing how much he had overslept by, his body jolted upwards and he leapt out of his bed to the bathroom.

"Mei, you always wake me up and I'm thankful but do you have to do it so late?" Her brother's voice was frantic as he tried to brush his teeth and put his clothes on at the same time.

Walking back to her own room, she knew not to get in his way when he was in a rush, he'd appear before long with a pitiful look on his face and his tie in hand.

The one thing he could never grasp was how to do his own tie.

After waiting ten minutes, feet took her back to the bathroom, there she found Yuki almost strangling himself with his silk tie. Quickly moving to his side, her delicate fingers deftly unwound the monstrous job he had done on trying to do his own necktie.

"Yuki, when are you going to accept that you and ties just do not get along?" His bottom lip stuck out in a pout as he watched her fix his mistake in less than a minute. It now hung neatly against his porcelain shirt.

Scratching his head of messy blonde hair, he grumbled about how annoyingly good she was at everything. After placing the bento she had made for Yuki in his bag and her own in hers, the two parted ways at the bottom of their apartment complex.

* * *

After finally reaching school and surviving the first half of the day, when she left the classroom to sit in the school's courtyard, there was a buzz in the air.

All the students, scratch that, all the female students were flying in the direction of the gym where the practice match was probably well in swing.

 _'Yeah, I think I'll be staying away from that side of the school.'_

She could never pinpoint if the guys actually liked the attention they got off the female students or not. She found it to be quite overwhelming and it wasn't even her they were fawning over.

Reaching the courtyard in record time, she was pleasantly surprised to see that it was deserted. Just how she liked it.

Mei hadn't eaten under her favorite oak tree for months. She found it soothing to be surrounded by so much nature in the midst of this zoo of students.

As she settled underneath the small section of shade, she began digging into her homemade bento.

The sound of twigs breaking caught her attention and with half a string of noodle hanging out of her mouth, a shady looking guy dressed in a hooded jacket ran past her at lightning speed, another set of footsteps followed and Momoi was trying her hardest to catch up with the assailant.

"Please stop." Her voice was strained from how out of breath she was and she knelt in front of Mei to compose herself a bit. Jumping to her feet, she eyed the pink haired girl cautiously.

"Want some help?" Momoi's eyes lit up at Mei's not so sudden appearance and gestured wildly to the fast escaping figure. "Yes please, he's-"

Mei was long gone before she could hear the rest of the girls words, which she didn't realize was actually quite important.

"-running away from basketball practice again." she slowly finished as she relaxed against a tree and slid down to the floor.

Mei was slowly catching up to the person who she assumed had done something terrible to Momoi, did he steal from her? Attack her? The thought of someone attacking her boiled her blood. She was a very nice girl, friendly and approachable.

It was very lucky that one of the things Mei excelled in was track and field so running long distance after someone was a walk in the park for her. She was close enough to the man now that she could hear his haggard breath and took it as her opportunity to pounce.

With a spring in her legs, she leapt forward onto the man's back and yanked his hood off, exposing his face.

"Aomine?" She exclaimed in shock and fell off his back onto the floor below. His blue eyes were wider than normal, making him look much less intimidating. "I'm busy poochie." Was all he said, then he left her on the floor and fully made his escape.

 _'What the hell was that about?'_

* * *

"I'm sorry Momoi, I wasn't able to stop him." Mei bowed her head as she apologized to the pink haired girl who was sat on the ground, guarding all of Mei's belongings. She waved off her apology and let out a short laugh.

"I've been with Aomine for years and I've never once been able to stop him. Don't worry about it." Her eyes looked sad as she twirled a strand of her long hair around her finger.

"If he wants to go, he'll go. I just wish he'd of at least tried to play nice with the other basketball team."

 _'Ah so that's why he was escaping.'_

Settling next to Momoi on the grassy floor, she offered her a carton of juice she had spare which she happily took.

"So how come he doesn't ever go to practices or join in on these games they prepare specially?"

She seemed to think about the answer for a second.

"Well, that'll be because he thinks he's better than all of them and even without practicing he'll still be the best."

* * *

Momoi's words had stuck with her for the rest of the day, how was it possible for someone to be so full of themselves? Sure, from what she had heard, Aomine was a great basketball player, but there would always be someone better.

The world was a big place after all.

With hands deep in a sink full of dirty dishes, Mei got to work with scrubbing them all until they were sparkling clean. Even though she was a mere pot washer at a restaurant, she took pride in her work and always tried her best.

She was paid good money after all and the people who worked there always looked out for her. As she waded through the soapy water for the last few dishes, her eyes glanced sideways out of the small window showing the park on the opposite side of the street.

A lone male stood in the basketball court, throwing ball after ball into the basket.

His form was incredible and the shots were picture perfect. She was so immersed in watching the player that she lost her grip on a knife as it slipped from her grasp and sliced through the pad of her thumb.

Blood began free flowing from the wound into the water below, staining it an ugly color.

"Oh Mei, what have you done?" The manager's concerned voice came from behind her shoulder.

Her blue eyes traveled from her wounded thumb to the court outside, the player was now gone, the ball lying motionless in the middle of the court.

"Zack, grab me a bandage and some tape." The manager was an elderly lady that treated everyone at her work like her kids, Mei found it soothing.

Her co-worked Zack, a guy a couple of years older than her came barreling into the back with arms overflowing with bandages.

"You idiot." Her manager screeched, yanking a small piece of bandage from the miles he had brought. "Did you think I'd be binding her whole body? Take them back."

Zack saluted the manager and ran off with the excess materials trailing behind him. He wasn't the brightest guy around but he was very kind and brought in a lot of customers with his handsome face.

"Be more careful sweetie." Mei's thumb was quickly dealt with and bound with a neat knot to secure it.

"You can go home now, make sure to stay where it's light."

"Thank you manager, I'll try to be more careful. See you tomorrow."

As she walked out of the building, she laughed quietly at how Zack was being manhandled by a senior lady. He really didn't have good luck.

* * *

After a tortuously long bus journey to where the basketball tournament was being held the next morning, Mei found herself standing outside a huge building with no idea where to go next.

Her eyes scanned the surrounding area for a friendly face, anybody. But all of the bodies passing her were unfamiliar. Lots of people were in basketball jerseys but none of them were for her school.

 _'This is a nightmare, I should have just gotten the bus with the team.'_

But the thought of being confined in a small space with Aomine for over an hour was enough for her to want to go by public transport.

And also she overslept. It was her brother who had had to wake **her** up this time.

"Are you lost?" A handsome guy who looked to be a little older than herself had stepped away from his own group and had a concerned expression aimed directly at her.

Did she really look that pathetic that a complete stranger had to take pity on her?

Staring down at her feet, she tried to not sound completely lame as she spoke. "I'm looking for the match that Tōō academy are attending?" He let out a soft chuckle and ducked his head down slightly so he could see her face that she was desperatly trying to hide from him.

Her nerves were definitely trying to get the best of her. "Was that a question?"

Shaking her head, she peeked up slightly and finally made eye contact with him. His eyes were a bright honey colour, almost identical to the colour of his hair. It definitely made him stand out from the rest of the crowd.

"Which way is it?" The bite in her voice was sharp and he let out a meow.

"This kitty has claws, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you, you just look so cute with that look on your face."

Extending his arm, he waited for her to loop hers through his so he could lead her. "My name's Kise, I'll-"

Rolling her eyes, she ducked under his waiting arm and nodded towards the building looming ahead of them. "If you could just point me in the right direction once we're inside, I'd be in your debt."

This seemed to ease the sting of her rejection of his arm and he happily walked alongside her.

"So, you here to see Aomine and his team? Part of his little fan club at your school?" She couldn't hold back the scoff that left her mouth at his remark. Sure, he had his own fan club but no way in hell was she ever going to be part of it.

Kise found this utterly hilarious and held his stomach as he let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, I really like you. Can I know your name before I lose you forever?" He was overly dramatic and it made her smile.

She could tell that he was a good guy. "My name's-"

"Mei!" Somebody shouted for her across the huge open area they had entered. Her eyes scanned the crowds and saw Wakamatsu's tall form shoving through clusters of people to reach her.

Kise noticed him too and eyed his black jersey, seeing that it was from the school Mei had mentioned she was looking for, he bowed and took her hand.

Placing a soft kiss on the back of her knuckles, she couldn't stop the embarrassed blush that covered her cheeks. This guy was far too charming.

"Mei, a pleasure to meet you. Let's hope it's not the last time."

As quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared back into the crowd, leaving her in a state of shock as Wakamatsu reached her.

"You made it, I was worried you'd get lost since you wouldn't come with us."

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the back of his loose jersey and allowed him to lead the way to the hall that he and his team would be playing in.

* * *

"It's good to have you with us Mei, having an extra helping hand on the sidelines is always appreciated." The pink haired girl was the complete opposite of Mei, feminine, friendly.

Whenever Mei ever met a new person or tried to start a conversation with someone she wasn't overly friendly with, she stiffened up and became almost aggressive with her responses.

She just wasn't much of a socialiser. Especially with females, their gazes were always so calculating, weighing up the pros and cons of possibly having you as a friend.

If anybody in her class knew that she was close with the basketball club, they'd be all over her. Hearing them talk about Aomine with hearts in their eyes was enough to make her want to hurl.

Sure, the guy was attractive. But his personality overshadowed that and burnt it to a crisp.

"Why isn't Aomine here yet? Dammit, that guy has no respect for this team." One of the members of the basketball team that she wasn't really acquainted with began barking like a mad dog, spitting foul words about the rogue player that were kind of uncalled for.

But it wasn't her place to say anything back, she was just a visitor. But she couldn't help but wonder where Aomine was, he was the ace player of the team. Not showing up to practice was one thing but missing a ranked match was something else entirely.

"We'll have to start without him." Imayoshi's words were law so the team went onto the court without their star player.

"He'll be here." Momoi's voice sounded so sure, it almost convinced Mei too.

Aomine didn't show up for the match.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mei, do you want to come with us to the cafeteria?" One of the more popular girls in her class had approached her at the end of a long and boring history lesson, Mei would have had to be blind to miss the twinkle in the girl's eye, she was up to no good.

Warily eyeing the exit, she quickly weighed up the pros and cons of making a run for it but after working long hours all weekend, her legs were weak with fatigue and the likelihood of them giving up on her once she tried to escape was too high to risk. She had some dignity after all.

With a very low wattage smile, Mei nodded her head in response to the girl's question and rose to her feet.

"Yeah sure, I need to grab some food." The three girls hidden behind their ring leader giggled to themselves, like they'd managed to do something incredible. Girls really were something.

"Great." The girl had dark brown hair that hung down her back and devious eyes. Walking on wobbly legs, Mei silently followed the group of females to the cafeteria. With how busy it was going to be, she very much doubted that any of them were going to get any food.

Her arm hung protectively over the side of her bag, hiding the bento she had prepared earlier on that morning. She'd hear what these people obviously wanted to say and then go eat her food in peace.

Mei prided herself on being a part of the furniture in her class, nobody noticed her which meant that nobody bothered her. It worked well. Until today, what had caused these vultures to pluck her up like this?

"So, is it true you're in a relationship with Aomine Daiki?" The other girls let out a breathless sigh at the mention of his name and immediately, Mei knew that she'd seriously messed up. These girls must be part of that moron's exclusive fan club and they were out for blood. More specifically, her blood.

"No. That's ridiculous, I've barely even spoke to the guy. Whoever told you that is spreading meaningless rumors." She tried desperately to hide the slight tremble in her voice as she spoke, it wasn't that her words were untrue. It was simply that being surrounded by so many unfriendly people was a little unsettling.

Her heart began to calm down slightly when she made it to the cafeteria in one piece. The death stares she was receiving from some of the girls were a little intense. If looks could kill...

"It's just that Tachibana." The ringleader nodded to one of her underlings. "Saw you in the courtyard the other day hanging off his back, looking awfully friendly. You don't have to lie about it, we're just curious."

 _'Did she miss the bit where I fell off his back and he left me lying on the floor?'_

"That was a simple misunderstanding, I was-"

"Poochie!" A deep voice echoed across the busy room, the pet name meant nothing to anybody else but to Mei, it could only be one person. Trying to disappear inside herself, she curved her body so she was standing directly behind one of her classmates, hopefully he just lost sight of her in the crowd and would leave.

His timing could not have been worse, it was almost like this whole thing was planned. Jogging from the far side of the cafeteria, Aomine came to a standstill at her side with a huge grin on his stupid face.

"Can I have a word?" His blue eyes became bored as they glossed over the mass of girls that were gazing in awe at him and settled back on Mei's lowered head. "I don't think you're busy. Let's go."

Grasping her upper arm, he pulled her away from the pack of piranhas but not before they got a taste of her. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes widened as she saw that they were all glaring at their retreating forms.

 _'Classic women, if they can't have him, nobody can. This is going to be troublesome.'_

"You can't just drag me behind you, you neanderthal." Aomine had waited until they were in the hidden oasis of the school grounds, almost in the exact spot where she had pounced on him like a lioness. Mei began to viciously slap at his large hand that was still holding her arm, she didn't like the contact, it made her feel weird..

Releasing her from his grip, he held up his hands in a silent surrender and let out a hearty laugh, it resonated from deep in his chest. The sound made her smile, it was a nice laugh. Still, it was a shame that the man who was creating it was so annoying the rest of the time.

"You're as feisty as ever, I thought I'd save you back there." His head nodded back towards the school building.

 _'Save me? Yeah right.'_

"Yeah, thanks." Her voice was drowning in sarcasm and it didn't go unnoticed by the basketball ace.

"Hey now, you looked like a cat surrounded by wolves. I wouldn't be a gentleman if I didn't offer my assistance."

"Why didn't you show up on Saturday? Everybody was waiting for you." Mei was blunt and to the point, she was curious as to what his excuse was for not showing up to a match that meant such a big deal to all of the players.

"I fell asleep." He spoke between bites of a chocolate bar that he had materialized seemingly out of thin air. "Woke up late, they should learn to be strong enough without me."

To say Mei was shocked with his response was an understatement. Her understand was that basketball was about being one with your team.

How could such a selfish man be such an amazing basketball player?

"You didn't wake up?" Her voice was ripe with disbelief. "Does this happen often?" Aomine nodded his head, as he finished the last of his food, his eyes locked onto the neatly wrapped bento box slightly sticking out of her bag.

"Is that a bento?" Rolling her eyes, she pulled it out and held it in her hand. "Yes, you know it's a bento. Don't be stupid." As she began to lower it into his open hands for him to have, she grinned and yanked it back towards herself, much to his displeasure.

"I want to make a deal with you basketball boy." He frowned at the weird nickname she had given him but with the promise of food looming in front of him, he was inclined to listen to her. "Go on."

"I will give you this bento today and make them for you every day, with just one condition." Making one extra bento in the morning would hardly be an inconvenience, she made enough food for both hers and her brothers with leftovers for later if either of them were hungry.

If her hunch was correct and Aomine had a stomach as big as his ego, he would not say no to this.

Nodding eagerly, his eyes locked onto the bento again, slowly edging forwards. "Sounds pretty good, what's the catch?"

Mei pulled the food away again and pointed in between his eyes. "You can't miss another ranked match. If you do, you have to go without my bentos and you'll have to spend a whole week's worth of lunch breaks with your official fan club."

The large rumble that came from his stomach pretty much answered her question. Aomine scowled at her, as if she were pure evil but held out his hands for her to place the bento in.

"Alright, but I'm only coming to practice to get your bento." Smiling brightly at him, Mei gave him her bento and bowed deeply. "Then the deal is done. Don't let me down."

With this deal, she hoped she didn't have to see the disappointment in his teammates faces when he didn't show up to support them.

As she walked away from him, Aomine shouted through a mouthful of rice. "Wait, I have a fanclub?"

* * *

Early the next morning, Yuki stumbled out of his room and eyed the extra bento Mei had placed on the kitchen surface. "Who's the extra lunch for? Don't tell me you've gotten so fat that one doesn't fill you anymore." He jokingly grasped at the skin of her stomach.

Batting him away, she pointed at him menacingly with a pair of pink chopsticks. "I am not fat." Picking the two bentos up, she glanced over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at her older brother.

"I'm feeding a dog at school."

It was half true...


	4. Chapter 4

Peeking her head around the corner of the school building, Mei was now making sure to take extra precautions when she made her way to the gymnasium at lunch. Aomine's stupid fan club had been popping up like little whack a moles.

Everywhere she went, you could guarantee that one of them was going to be there, waiting. It was getting quite annoying.

"Are you alright Mei?"

Hearing a voice directly next to her ear, Mei wobbled sideways to distance herself from the potential predator but lost her footing and began to fall backwards, out into the open courtyard, for all eyes to see.

Momoi's hand flew out to grab Mei's cardigan to try and stop her fall but only succeeded in going down along with her. The girls were a mess of flailing limbs and fluttering hair on the cold concrete floor. "That didn't go well did it."

Laughing, Momoi made no attempt to move but instead lowered her head slightly, keeping her eyes trained on their surrounding. "Who are we hiding from? Is this some top secret mission?"

A muffled response was all Mei could manage as she was currently being smothered by her friends huge breasts. Quickly rolling off her, Momoi couldn't apologize enough as she smoothed out Mei's creased cardigan and fixed her bow that had become loosened from their little fall.

"Sorry." Glancing down at her impressive chest, the pink haired girl scowled at it. "I'm still not used to them, they just popped up out of nowhere." Once they were both to their feet, Momoi, as bold as ever, stuck her hands out and began palming Mei's chest.

Staring down at her small hands, the blonde couldn't speak. Her voice was lost to her. All she could do was stare as she was felt up.

 _'Why the hell am I being molested in the middle of school, by a girl?'_

"Yours are just the right size, not too small but big enough that you can get a handful. I'm jealous." Shaking her head in disbelief, she could not believe the words that were leaving this girls mouth. Was it normal for girls to discuss their chest sizes as casually as males discussed their muscles?

It was all a mystery to Mei, she was sure that Momoi would teach her the secrets of women one weird experience at a time.

"Food." A gruff, zombie like voice sounded over Mei's shoulder. Momoi didn't seem deterred from her massaging but Mei quickly batted her small hands away and turned to face said zombie.

Aomine didn't seem phased in the slightest at what he had just witnessed, he clearly wasn't an ordinary teenage boy who'd have gotten a life threatening nosebleed at witnessing something so perverted.

Instead, his eyes were fixed solely on the bag that was hanging from Mei's shoulder, which so happened to contain the food that would bring the basketball player back from the dead.

Mei was somewhat skilled in resurrecting Aomine from his lack of food comas. If she didn't bring it to him on time, he'd sniff it out with his bloodhound nose.

 _'I'm only five minutes late to giving him his food. He looks dreadful, doesn't he eat anything else?'_

"Are you hungry?" Talking slowly, as if she were speaking to a child, Mei waited for him to confirm her suspicions. Nodding his head slowly, she carefully pulled out the bento she made for him and was pleased at the spark of life that danced in his eyes at the sight of the food.

She always made sure that it was wrapped in a blue cloth so she would be able to identify which one was for her and which one was for the bottomless pit. His portion size was nearly triple what hers was. The reason for that was quite simple and easy to explain.

Aomine was a pig.

A pig that had snuffed his little snout at the food she had brought him on the first day of their deal, his only words had been.

"This isn't even enough food to feed my dog, if you can't afford to feed my properly then our deal's off."

His snide words had lit a fire in her belly, so after hitting the bottom of the lunchbox so all the food fell up his jumper, she had stuck her tongue out at his shocked face and had said their deal was still very much on. The next day, he had no smart words for her as his bento was practically overflowing.

Aomine just nodded and disappeared into the school building, no doubt to find a quiet place where he could sleep off the rest of the day.

Mei was sure he must have been a sloth in another life. Nobody should be able to sleep as much as he did. It was coming up to winter, maybe he'd go into hibernation? She could only hope.

Placing the box in his hands, he grunted a thanks and trundled away. As he turned away, Mei let out a noise of disgust at the sight before her.

"Pull your trousers up you hippy!" Aomine's trousers were hanging loosely off his hips, showing off the top half of his boxers. Sticking his finger up at her, he yanked them down even further, revealing far too much skin for her liking.

"Pull your trousers up right now Aomine." Momoi voice was shrill and he was quick to yank them back up, Mei couldn't help but chuckle, guess he was scared of something after all.

"He actually listened to me." Momoi almost sounded impressed, Mei let out a sigh of relief but from all the craziness that had happened, she had completely forgotten to keep an eye out for the minions of Satan.

"So you lied, you are his girlfriend." One of the faceless girls from the previous week had crawled out of the woodworks and was standing in front of her and Momoi, trying to seem intimidating but failing miserably. Rolling her eyes, Mei walked around the girl and encouraged Momoi to follow as well.

"You're strange, if Aomine finds out you're still obsessed with him, it'd be a huge bother." Eyeing her curiously, Mei's footsteps halted and she waited. She had a feeling that the pink haired girl who seemed like a bit of an airhead was actually quite intelligent when it came to the ways of women.

The unknown girl took a step back, her face paling. "What do you mean? We're not a bother, we just appreciate him for what he is."

"Trust me, if you knew what he was really like, you wouldn't be praising him like a god." Mei mumbled under her breath, the girl was too focused on Momoi to even remember that she was stood there.

"Either you leave Mei alone or it'll be a repeat of what happened last time, remember how he reacted when he realized that you were bothering me?"

She obviously did remember because she quickly scuttled off back into the school without another word. Happy with herself, Momoi dusted off her hands and linked arms with Mei.

"And that is how you deal with women. You should have said they were bothering you. Aomine owned me one last time and pretty much shouted at them for me."

"I didn't think it would be as simple as that. Wow, you're good." Laughing, the two quickly made their way to the gymnasium and Mei couldn't hide the huge smile that was stretching her face.

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so...happy.

"What are you smiling about?" Wakamatsu had appeared at her side, drenched in sweat. To say he stunk was an understatement. Momoi excused herself and ran over to the coach's side, quietly discussing something. Whatever it was they were talking about, he seemed happy to be hearing it and patted her pink hair softly.

"You smell Waka, are you not using that deodorant I got you? I didn't buy it you out of the goodness of my heart, it's for the sake of my poor nose." Reaching inside her bag, she found the small towel she kept in there for days when she played a couple of games of basketball and got a bit sweaty.

Throwing the pink piece of material at his face, she grinned and began to wipe the moisture away for him. It was tough because of how tall he was but she just about managed.

"I'm just feeling good, am I not allowed to smile or something?" Her tone was playful, but the basketball players was deadly serious. His large hand brushed a lock of blonde hair out of her face so he could see her eyes.

"You look pretty cute when you smile." Mei's face flooded with color, Wakamatsu's did soon after realizing what he said.

 _'Why would he say something so embarrassing?'_

Clearing his throat, his dropped the towel over her shoulder and casually patted her head. "Thanks for the towel."

* * *

Her mind was still on Wakamatsu's words long after she had left school and made her way to work. Luckily, she was on shift for the night with Zack and he was a great distraction.

"I swear I've got bruises on my ass from these women with their grabby hands." Zack made a pincer motion with his hands whilst glaring over his shoulder at the retreating forms of his latest fan club. Some older women who had come in for some lunch had spotted Zack's pretty little face a mile away and had zero'd in on him.

The housewives flirtatious nature quickly got out of hand and Mei had to step in and politely ask them to leave.

"Maybe you should wear a mask while you're at work? Like the phantom of the opera but instead of the opera, the diner?" Letting out a long sigh, he agreed with a small chuckle and returned to the front of the shop to greet their latest customers.

"Hello, table for two?" A voice responded that sounded familiar. Peeking her head around the doorway, she yanked it back and pressed herself against the sink.

 _'What the hell are Aomine and Momoi doing on this side of town?'_

"I'm only here because you offered to buy me food and it's close to where I was." Aomine's loud voice made her slink even further back into the kitchen. She couldn't concentrate with those two here, should she go out and greet them or hide in the back like some kind of gremlin.

 _'I should definitely go and say hello.'_

"You seem different recently Aomine, it's a welcome change." Momoi's voice was gentle, it always sounded that way when she spoke to him, she really did have a soft spot for Aomine but not like how people always assumed. From what she had told Mei, they had been friends for as long as she could remember and she thought of it as her duty as his friend to always watch out for him.

He couldn't look after himself, or rather he just couldn't be bothered.

Mei thought that was very sweet of her, especially since she knew first hand how annoying the basketball ace could be, but he must have some redeeming qualities surely?

"I'm the same as always idiot. Don't try and see things that aren't there."

"But you're showing up to practice and you attended the match yesterday. Something's changed." She sounded like she was trying to pry something out of him.

"Yeah, what's changed is i'm allowing myself to be bribed with food more often. I'm only coming to these games because Wakamatsu's girl promises to feed me everyday."

Mei pulled a baffled face, was that what he called her? Nice to know that he went out of his way to remember her name but what did she expect? It was either poochie or Wakamatsu's girl, which was worse?

Lost in her own thoughts, once she returned to the room, she had missed half of their conversation.

Zack walked into the kitchen, cutting off the conversation once again but opening the door, exposing her face to Aomine who was sat facing the kitchen. His blue eyes widened slightly at seeing her but he quickly recovered and his mouth curled up into a smug smirk.

"Wakamatsu's girl really is something though, do you think she likes-"

Momoi was pulled into his game almost instantly and slapped the back of his hand. "I don't want to hear another word. You best make sure to be extra nice to her and her name is Mei, not Wakamatsu's girl."

Warmed at Momoi's concern, Mei stuck her tongue out at Aomine and ducked back into the kitchen.

"Do you know them or something?" Zack wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at Mei which earnt him a slap on his already tender tushie. "Something like that, they're from my school."

"Fancy introducing me to the pink haired cutie? That isn't her boyfriend is it." Rolling her eyes, she spun around on the spot and picked up one of the small dessert plates that had been prepared earlier on in the day. The one she had chose was a cute pink cupcake with a mountain of frosting leaning precariously on the top.

Even though they had only been friends for a short amount of time, Mei already knew that Momoi had a soft spot for creamy desserts.

The way to those two's hearts was definitely through their stomachs.

"No way, he's just her dog. Give her this and say it's on the house."

Aomine left soon after eating the dessert that Zack had intended for Momoi. Mei was scowling at his muscular back as he left, he was definitely no gentleman. As soon as his shift ended, Zack rushed into the back to grab his coat.

"Even though that guy ate the cake, she's still really thankful so I'm going to walk her home." Slapping her shoulder, Zack squeezed it gently. "Thanks Mei, for the tip, I appreciate it."

Peeking around the doorframe, Mei couldn't hold back a smile as she watched him walk to Momoi's side and place his giant coat over her small frame.

"Young love." She mumbled to herself.

After cleaning the restaurant, the rest of the workers began to leave too. It was later than she usually got out and she knew that Yuki was probably beginning to get angsty. If she was even five minutes late, he would drown her cell phone with calls and texts.

Some people would say that he had a sister complex but she disagreed. She was all he had and she him. Being slightly overprotective was understandable in her eyes.

"See you later everyone." Mei pulled up her scarf so it covered the majority of her face, the night air was ice cold and was biting her skin. The sound of a basketball smacking concrete caught her attention, standing on the opposite side of the street was the lone player that always frequented the court late at night.

Her eyes bulged as she realized that he was only clad in shorts and a vest. Her feet carried her across the road and she cleared her throat, to somehow gain his attention.

A large puffy coat was thrown on the floor at the side of the court and she pointed at it aggressively.

"Ah so you're finally finished. I was getting bored of waiting. Fancy playing a little with me? I didn't realize you worked so close to my court." Aomine turned around to face her and smirked.

"Your court? Put on your coat and go home Aomine. It's freezing, you're going to get sick." She hated how she sounded like his mother, but she was right. He tossed the ball he was holding at her chest, ignoring her completely.

"One game." His voice held a hint of desperation, she couldn't pinpoint why. It was late at night, surely his parents were wondering where he was? Peeking up at his face, the darkness made his dull eyes look almost lifeless.

Chucking her bag to the side and yanking her scarf off, she held her hand out with one finger raised.

"One game, show me how good you really are." The tiniest of sparks glimmered in his eyes as he watched Mei roll the ball in the palm of her hand.

"Sure poochie."


	5. Chapter 5

They say that you can't truly understand something until you witness it firsthand. Well, Mei thought that she understood the kind of talent Aomine possessed when it came to the sport of basketball. As it turns out, she was dead wrong. Unless you were facing him as an enemy on the court, you could never even hope to understand. The aura he exuded was chilling, it excited her as much as it frightened her.

How could someone have so much raw talent? It was just incredible. She was having an amazing time, despite the fact that he was absolutely destroying her points wise.

"You don't seem deterred from playing with me." Aomine bounced the ball as he spoke, his voice almost sounding pleasantly surprised. **Almost.** Lifting the neck of her t-shirt up, she wiped off the sweat that had accumulated under her chin and grinned. "Why on earth would I be deterred?"

Snorting out a laugh, he did a fancy maneuver around her small frame and easily dunked the ball. Turning his head back to face her, he nodded towards the rolling ball like it spoke for itself.

"Because you're like 50 points ahead of me? I like a challenge." Using her speed, one of the only things she had at her disposal against him, she scooped the ball up and made her way towards to opposite hoop. The sound of gravel crunching should have caught her attention but her laughter was too loud for her to notice that the two of them were no longer alone. Aomine was hot on her heels, circling her body to try and block any shot she may possibly try to make. It was like a dance for them.

With a devious smirk, Mei's hand ducked under the loose material of his vest and pressed against his warm abdomen. The shock of her cold fingers tickling his taut skin was enough for him to back away slightly and also enough for her to make her shot. As her fingers glided from the material of the ball, an angry voice shouted her name.

Caught off guard, she lost her mark and the ball hit the backboard with a crashing bang. Mei dared not turn around for the fear of losing her soul. Glancing up at Aomine's face, she gestured to whoever was standing behind her and pursed her lips. "I'm not sure but I think that might be my brother, does he look angry?" Aomine looked at Yuki who had a face like thunder, it was flush with anger as he stared at his younger sisters back.

"If looks could kill, you'd be keeled over on your back right now. Good luck with that." Spinning on the balls of his feet, he retreated to the back of the court to grab his coat and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

 _'Great, so I stay out late to keep him company but he abandons me as soon as it suits him? What an asshole.'_

"I've been calling your phone Mei." Yuki's voice was tight as he took slow steps towards her. "For over an hour. What are you doing playing basketball with some stranger?"

"He's not a stranger. I go to school with him." Scoffing, he firmly grasped her upper arm and began to pull her away from the court. Her bag and scarf were already slung over his shoulder, how long had he been watching them for?

"Yuki I'm really sorry. I should have called you to-"

"Just stop Mei." Her eyes fixated on his tense jaw the whole walk home, it reminded her not to open her mouth and say something stupid.

Aomine's hunched form was hidden from sight but he waited until the two siblings had departed before he too left. His blue eyes stared daggers at Yuki who was oblivious to the fact they were still being watched.

"I don't like that guy." He mumbled gruffly to himself as he retrieved the ball and sunk it into the hoop one last time.

* * *

"What's wrong with you poochie?" Aomine's smiling face was the last thing she needed to see, she was already past breaking point with dealing with annoyances for the day.

"Get out of my face you insect." Mei swatted her hand near his face, in the hope of discouraging him from getting any closer to her. Narrowing his eyes, he slid down the wall into a sitting position a safe distance away from her and waited silently.

Happy with his behaviour and very unhappy with her own, she reached into her bag and placed his bento in between them. "Sorry, I'm not in a very good mood today. My brother and I had a-"

The sound of food being shovelled greedily into Aomine's mouth cut her off short. She stared in disbelief at the spectacle before her. In less than a minute, he had eaten the entirety of his meal and was now bowing his head in a sign of respect at the now empty bento box.

"Thank you for the meal poochie." Stretching out his long legs, his head tilted sideways and stared at her. "Your brother's got a bit of a sister complex about you huh? He like's to keep his little Mei Mei on a tight leash?"

Turning beet red, Mei jumped to her feet and ran to the basketball court in front of them to try and escape the very uncomfortable conversation of Aomine trying to take an interest in her troubles. Wakamatsu's face brightened when he saw her approaching his side of the court. "You wanna join in today? It's been a while since you've played with me."

Trying to ignore the fake snores coming from Aomine at the end of the court, she shrugged her shoulders. "You guys have been practising hard for these upcoming matches, I didn't want to get in the way." Someone slapped her shoulder as they passed behind her, Imayoshi was smiling as usual. "You could never be in the way Mei. It's always more fun when you're running around the court."

Grinning, she took the captains blessing on the chin and stripped off her school shirt, she always wore a vest underneath as well as shorts beneath her skirt, her brother insisted she be equipped for the hardships of school. But it came more in handy at playing basketball than stopping people from peeking at her underwear.

"You'll keep ahold of this for me won't you darling?" Her voice was dripping in sarcasm as she chucked her shirt over Aomine's head and returned to the court.

With a smirk on his lips, Aomine dropped her shirt onto the floor and followed her onto the court. The other players were stood in shock that he was willing to join in on one of their games but his eyes were only focused on Mei.

"You're so cheeky, it makes me want to tease you." Training his gaze above her head, he clicked his fingers loudly. "Yo moron, chuck me the ball." Wakamatsu scoffed and kept said ball in his palm, a defiant look on his face. "If you want the ball Ace, you'll have to jump for it." Mei let out a choked laugh at Aomine's expression, a pure look of disbelief at being denied something.

The two made their way to the centre of the court and prepared for the ball toss. As it was thrust into the air, Mei realised a little too late that she was too close to Wakamatsu's 'zone of terror' as he called it, the last thing she saw was an elbow aiming straight for her face.

Boy, this was going to hurt.


End file.
